The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)- A Betty Hutton Wartime Comedy

This is one of the best comedies ever made! In trying to under gird
my argument, I ran up against that old saying about comedy attributed to E.B. White – Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.

But I’ll try anyway.

The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944) follows Trudy (Betty
Hutton), a small town girl who, in a drunken haze, marries an anonymous
military man who is deployed the next day. She cannot remember his name and
soon discovers she’s pregnant (and might not be married). She convinces the
boy-next-door, Norval (Eddie Bracken), to help her keep the secret from her
father (William Demarest).

On the face of it, it’s not funny at all.Yet somehow it had
me laughing like crazy .

Why is this one of the best comedies ever?

It has clever writing and direction by the
legendary Preston Sturges. You cannot go wrong watching one of his films.

The story is ripped straight from the headlines
of the newspaper, making it current for its audience. Finding the lighter side
of a very serious and well-ruminated subject
is refreshing.

Betty Hutton’s zany brand of comedy is tamped
down to a manageable size since her character must mope around most of the
time. Hutton is at her most hilarious in movies like this when she is not
straining for a laugh.

This is a movie for and about 4Fs and other
people who feel left behind, abandoned, not the center of attention, etc.
Norval is a guy who has been passed over in many ways in his life, he’s the
guy who never gets the girl, the one who is forever frozen in the “friend zone.”
But he gets the girl – and then some – fairly early on in the film. Now what
does he do? Not many films that I can name off hand have a genuine (and comic) soft spot for 4Fs.

Recommendations

Diana Lynn plays another sassy young girl in The Major and the
Minor (1942)with Ginger Rogers.

About Java

"Java's Journey: A really fun, informative well-written blog that explores all of the things - and I mean all - I love about classic films."-- Flick Chick of A Person In The Dark
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